Konstantinos "Kostas" Chalkias ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Χαλκιάς; born 30 May 1974) is a retired Greek
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. Previously he had played for
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
,
Apollon Smyrni
Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...
,
Iraklis,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
,
Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...
,
Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to:
People
* Aris (surname)
Given name
* Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer
* Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player
* Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano
* Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter
* Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...
,
PAOK and
Panachaiki
Panachaiki G.E. (Greek: Παναχαϊκή Γυμναστική Ένωση, ''Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi'', "Pan- Achaean Gymnastic Union") is a Greek multi-sport club based in the city of Patras, Greece.
The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, ...
.
He was also capped 32 times by the
Greece national team, with whom he won
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
. He also was selected at the next two European Championships and the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
.
Club career
Greece
Chalkias started his career in the
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
youth academy in the 1994–95 double winning team. He was transferred to feeder club
Apollon Athens
Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...
in 1996 as a replacement for retired
Antonis Minou
Antonis Minou ( el, Αντώνης Μήνου, born 4 May 1958) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career
Minou took his first football steps in Almopos Aridea and to Kastoria in 1980 and two years later ...
, signing a five-year professional contract.
His solid performances helped Apollon avoid relegation from
Alpha Ethniki
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
and made him return to Panathinaikos two years later, in 1998.
However, he did not get any playing time at Panathinaikos by his head coach
Vasilis Daniil and in January 1999 he was re-sent to Apollon on loan for six months.
After his return, he was forced to play third keeper to the legendary
Jozef Wandzik and Greek legend
Antonis Nikopolidis
Antonis Nikopolidis ( el, Αντώνης Νικοπολίδης; born 14 January 1971) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and former manager of the Greece under-21 national team.
He is regarded among the best ...
. He made a total of 25 starts over the next three years between 1998 and 2001 for Panathinaikos and was transferred for two seasons to
Iraklis before good performances led to a return to Panathinaikos in the 2003–04 season. After playing second fiddle again to Nikopolidis during most of the 2003–04 season, he was allowed back into the first team after a dispute Nikopolidis had with management.
Going abroad
At the end of the 2003–04 season, Nikopolidis was let out on a free transfer to bitter rivals,
Olympiakos, and a new keeper was bought,
Mario Galinovic. After a fight for first team football, eventually Galinovic won out and due to overseas interest, Chalkias was shipped out to English side
Portsmouth F.C. in January 2005, making his debut in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
fourth round tie away at fierce rivals
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. Over the next few matches Chalkias's wild tactics and inconsistency led to some poorly conceded goals, and he was soon dropped and replaced by
Jamie Ashdown. With the signing of
Sander Westerveld
Sander Westerveld (born 23 October 1974) is a Dutch football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He was the goalkeeping coach of South African Premier Soccer League club Ajax Cape Town.
The highlight of his playing ...
in July 2005, Chalkias fell even further down the pecking order, and in January 2006 he left Portsmouth by mutual consent, having made only five league appearances for the club.
Shortly after his release from Portsmouth he joined
Segunda División side
Real Murcia
Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, playing ho ...
.
Return to Greece
Chalkias was bought in the summer transfer window of 2006 by
Aris Thessaloniki
Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...
, who were then newly promoted to the
Greek Superleague
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
. After his transfer to Aris, Chalkias regained some of the form that he showed during his bright run in the first team for Panathinaikos and after an exceptional season, he was recalled το the national team and gained a starting spot over
Antonis Nikopolidis
Antonis Nikopolidis ( el, Αντώνης Νικοπολίδης; born 14 January 1971) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and former manager of the Greece under-21 national team.
He is regarded among the best ...
after the latter's poor performance earlier in a
Euro 2008 qualifying match against
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
Chalkias left Aris in late May 2008 after his contract was due to run out
and on 28 May 2008 he agreed to sign a two-year contract for rivals
PAOK, thus becoming the third player to have played for the all three major clubs of
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
(Iraklis, Aris, PAOK) following Apostolos Tsourelas and
Stefanos Borbokis
Stefanos Borbokis ( el, Στέφανος Μπορμπόκης; born 1 September 1966) is a Greek former footballer. He is the brother of Vassilis Borbokis who also played for PAOK FC.
Club career
Borbokis began his career at PAOK FC in 1986 and ...
.
In the 2009–10 season he reached the second position with PAOK and the semifinal of the Greek cup. In January 2010 he renewed his contract with PAOK for two more years. Chalkias has contributed to the qualification of PAOK the
2010–11 UEFA Champions League
The 2010–11 UEFA Champions League was the 56th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 19th under the UEFA Champions League format. The final was held at Wembley Stadium in London on 28 May 2011, wher ...
third qualifying round, after winning the preliminaries against
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...
,
Olympiakos and
Aris Thessaloniki F.C.
Aris FC ( el, ΠΑΕ Άρης), commonly known as Aris Thessaloniki FC, AFC or simply Aris, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Created in 1914 as ''Aris Thessaloniki Football Club'', t ...
Retirement and comeback
On 22 September 2012, Chalkias announced his retirement from football.
After four years of inactivity, he returned to the football for the Greek team
Panachaiki
Panachaiki G.E. (Greek: Παναχαϊκή Γυμναστική Ένωση, ''Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi'', "Pan- Achaean Gymnastic Union") is a Greek multi-sport club based in the city of Patras, Greece.
The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, ...
.
International career
Chalkias made his debut on 10 November 2001, in a friendly 4–2 home win against Estonia, as he replaced
Antonis Nikopolidis
Antonis Nikopolidis ( el, Αντώνης Νικοπολίδης; born 14 January 1971) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and former manager of the Greece under-21 national team.
He is regarded among the best ...
at half time. In the summer 2004 he was part of the squad which won
Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
, although he was only the reserve 'keeper.
[ ]Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel (; born 9 August 1938) is a German former football coach and player.
Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other being Jupp Heynckes). In t ...
called him also for the qualification of Euro 2008. Chalkias played as the first goalkeeper for the Greece national team during most of the qualification for the World Cup 2010, after the retirement of the legendary goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis
Antonis Nikopolidis ( el, Αντώνης Νικοπολίδης; born 14 January 1971) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and former manager of the Greece under-21 national team.
He is regarded among the best ...
and he is the only goalkeeper from the Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
.
In Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
Chalkias was the oldest player at the tournament at 38 years of age and one of just three players remaining from the victorious 2004 Greek squad. On 12 June 2012, he started the second group stage match against Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
– at the 21st minute of the match, and having conceded two goals in 6 minutes, he was substituted with Michalis Sifakis due to injury. After Greece's lost quarterfinal to Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on 22 June, a game which Chalkias watched from the bench, he announced his withdrawal from the national team alongside Nikos Liberopoulos
Nikolaos "Nikos" Liberopoulos ( el, Νίκος Λυμπερόπουλος; born on 4 August 1975) is a retired Greek former professional international footballer who played as a forward. He is famous for his aim-to-goal shot, his innate in-pla ...
.
Career statistics
Notes
Honours
Panathinaikos
*Alpha Ethniki
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
: 1995–96, 2003–04
*Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second most ...
: 2003–04
Aris
*Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.
The Greek Cup is the second most ...
runner-up: 2007–08
Panachaiki
*Gamma Ethniki
The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece.
History
The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...
: 2016–17
Greece
* European Championship: 2004
Individual
* PAOK MVP of the Season: 2008–2009
References
External links
Profile at PAOK's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalkias, Kostas
1974 births
Living people
Footballers from Larissa
Greek footballers
Association football goalkeepers
Greece international footballers
UEFA European Championship-winning players
UEFA Euro 2004 players
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2008 players
UEFA Euro 2012 players
Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Panathinaikos F.C. players
Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players
Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C. players
PAOK FC players
Panachaiki F.C. players
Real Murcia players
Premier League players
Super League Greece players
Gamma Ethniki players
Segunda División players
Greek expatriate footballers
Greek expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate footballers in England
Greek expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Spain